2016 VINTAGE - candblibrary.co.uk · Puligny-Montrachet les Combettes 1.5 ha 26 years 0% VILLAGES...

2016 VINTAGE

EXCLUSIVE TO CORNEY & BARROW IN THE UK

“Above all else, 2016 is a vintage in which terroir shines. Nowhere is this more apparent than at Domaine Jacques Prieur, where every parcel glows with personality, confidence and,

that most elusive of traits, élan…” GUY SEDDON

Jean-Pierre Labruyère died in 2017, while the 2016 vintage was still in barrel. Among a plethora of non-wine achievements, he will be remembered for having laid the foundations of this great estate. Jean-Pierre purchased a majority share of Domaine Jacques Prieur from the Prieur family in 1988. At that stage, the Domaine was something of an underperformer. Room for improvement, certainly – and improve it, he did... The first step in the rejuvenation of this formidable collection of vineyard holdings was the appointment in 1990 of the brilliant Nadine Gublin as head winemaker. Next came the succession of Jean-Pierre’s son Edouard to manage the estates in 2008. Edouard continues to build tirelessly on these foundations, juggling management of the Domaine with the family’s ancestral Domaine Labruyère in Moulin-à-Vent, Pomerol’s Château Rouget and the newly founded Champagne Labruyère.

With this 2016 release, we embark upon our fourth vintage as exclusive UK agents. How time has flown. These notes are based on a marathon tasting at the Domaine in mid-October 2017 with Nadine Gublin, which has become one of the highlights of our Burgundy calendar. Tasting with Nadine is a shared voyage of discovery: a give and take of opinions and a gold mine of snippets of information.

GUY SEDDONJanuary 2018

Domaine Jacques Prieur has nine grands crus from Musigny to Le Montrachet and fourteen premiers crus from Puligny-Montrachet to Beaune. This remarkable patchwork of holdings was assembled piece by piece over the years, a carefully compiled jigsaw of the choicest plots.

DOMAINE JACQUES PRIEUR

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THE VINEYARDSLe Chambertin, Clos de Bèze, Le Musigny, Clos de Vougeot, Échézeaux, Corton-Bressandes, Corton-Charlemagne, Chevalier-Montrachet and Le Montrachet – not a bad résumé. These grands crus are complemented by a host of premiers crus traversing Beaune, Volnay and Meursault, where the domaine is located.

The domaine was established in 1870. Jacques Prieur, co-founder of the famous Chevaliers de Tastevin, lent the estate his name in 1956. Today, the Prieur family is represented by his grandson Martin Prieur, who, under the direction of Edouard Labruyère, looks after a number of export markets.

The table on the left gives an overview of the Domaine’s holdings, which comprise 21 hectares in total. Losses were so catastrophic in some places in 2016 that we have included for the first time a column to show the percentage loss from each plot. It makes for sobering reading…

APPELLATION HECTARES AVERAGE AGE OF VINES

PERCENTAGE LOSS IN 2016

GRANDS CRUS

Chambertin (including Clos de Bèze) 0.9 ha 41 years 80%

Musigny 0.8 ha 45 years 50%

Clos Vougeot 1.3 ha 37 years 20%

Échézeaux 0.4 ha 43 years 80%

Corton-Bressandes 0.8 ha 41 years 45%

Corton-Charlemagne 0.2 ha 55 years 40%

Chevalier-Montrachet 0.2 ha 51 years 35%

Le Montrachet 0.6 ha 40 years 75%

PREMIERS CRUS

Beaune Rouge Champs-Pimont 2.1 ha 42 years 15%

Beaune Blanc Champs-Pimont 1.4 ha 24 years 15%

Beaune Rouge Clos de la Féguine 1.6 ha 12 years 50%

Beaune Blanc Clos de la Féguine 0.3 ha 26 years 55%

Beaune Rouge Grèves 1.2 ha 40years 100%

Beaune Blanc Grèves 0.5 ha 13 years 85%

Volnay-Champans 0.3 ha Replanting N/A

Volnay Clos des Santenots Monopole 1.2 ha 50 years+ 100%

Volnay-Santenots 0.6 ha 21 years 100%

Pommard Charmots 0.3 ha 71 years 0%

Meursault-Charmes 0.1 ha 50 years 100%

Meursault-Perrières 0.3 ha 32 years 20%

Meursault-Santenots 0.2 ha 15 years 70%

Puligny-Montrachet les Combettes 1.5 ha 26 years 0%

VILLAGES

Meursault Rouge Clos de Mazeray 0.6 ha 23 years 35%

Meursault Blanc Clos de Mazeray 2.6 ha 30 years 60%

THE HOLDINGS

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Nadine Gublin Nadine has been head winemaker at Domaine Labruyère since 1988. She is a recipient of the ‘Winemaker of the Year’ award from the Revue de Vin de France, the only French woman to have been so recognised.

Edouard Labruyère Edouard Labruyère was born in 1976 at the original family domaine in Moulin-à-Vent, Beaujolais. Following a short period as a diplomat in Africa, he returned to the world of wine in 2003, working as a courtier in Bordeaux from 2003 until 2008.

Edouard’s father asked him to join the family wine group in 2008, since when he has been responsible for Domaine Jacques Prieur, Domaine Labruyère (Moulin-à-Vent) and Château Rouget (Pomerol). Along with the newly established Champagne Labruyère, this sees Edouard travelling in seemingly endless circles around France.

THE CELLARWinemaker Nadine Gublin destems most of the Pinot Noir, although there are notable exceptions. Pommard-Charmots is 100% whole-bunch fermented in 2016, as always, as is the Domaine’s red Meursault Clos de Mazeray. In the grands crus, Échézeaux is 50% whole-bunch, Corton-Bressandes a third and Musigny a quarter.

There is a double sorting table, to make doubly sure the grapes are pristine. Red wine maceration lasts around 20 days, consisting of three to five days of cold soak at 14°C before fermentation, with a post-fermentation maceration of five to seven days, protecting the surface with a cap of carbon dioxide, in the form of dry ice. Pigeage (punching down) is carried out twice a day for

THE TEAM

Daniel Godefroy Daniel has been in charge of the vineyards of Domaine Jacques Prieur since 1997. Born into a winemaking family in the Loire’s Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Daniel worked in Alsace for 12 years, five of which were spent at Domaine Zind-Humbrecht.

the first three days of fermentation, then once a day thereafter, but there is no remontage (pumping over). New oak is around 50-80% for the grands crus and 20-30% for the premiers crus.

For the white wines, the grapes are pressed immediately using a pneumatic press and transferred to stainless steel vats for 12-14 hours’ settling. Around 20 months élevage is the norm, with 100% malolactic conversion. There is no bâtonnage, 2007 having been the last vintage at the Domaine in which lees stirring was employed.

Only natural yeasts are used. Since 2008, the red and white wines have been made in separate cellars to keep their different natural yeast strains separate.

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2016 VINTAGE NOTES“2016 is croquant (crunchy) and éclatant (brilliantly bright). In the Côte de Nuits, 2016 is like 2010, but with greater ripeness. In the Côte de Beaune, it is harder to characterise; maybe 2012, but with more acidity and energy, and greater ageing potential. In any case, they were easy wines to make!”NADINE GUBLIN, OCTOBER 2017

Easy to make, maybe. But what went before – thanks to the April frost – was nothing short of devastating. Domaine Jacques Prieur lost more than half the crop from its parcels in Clos de Mazeray Blanc, Le Montrachet, Chambertin, Échézeaux and Musigny.

The levels of ripeness, particularly in the Côte de Nuits, were admirable. The Domaine averaged 13.2-13.5% potential alcohol in the Côte de Nuits, with certain parcels, such as the Domaine’s Chambertin, attaining 14% potential alcohol.

However, in the final analysis, 2016 will be remembered as one of the most chaotic vintages of the last thirty years. After a very mild winter, among the warmest since 1990, the vegetative cycle restarted quickly. March and the first half of April were then very cold and very humid. The second half of April was milder, allowing vegetative development to resume and heralding bud-break, the mid-point of which was reached on average

across the Domaine’s holdings on 18th-20th April.

In this context, the frost at the end of the month, prompted by a cold front and high humidity, came at the worst possible time, from the point of view of potential yields. “A totally unimaginable catastrophe”, in Nadine Gublin’s words, striking with devastating effect on the night of 26th-27th April.

Nadine recounted how the more exposed of the Domaine’s parcels were the worst-affected. Sticking your head above the parapet can reap rewards when the weather is clement, but it is a risky position to be in when it turns stormy.

May was a cool, drizzly, sombre month, a time for licking of wounds, while vegetative growth progressed at a snail’s pace. At this point, 2016’s development was tracking as the slowest since 2008. June saw an increase in temperatures, with some very hot days at mid-month.

Growth still lagged behind the average though, on a par with 2013.

So far so worrying, but salvation arrived in the Côte d’Or in July. The clouds parted, the temperatures rose and vignerons dared to hope…

The period from July to September was the polar opposite of that which had gone before. Dry, warm weather ushered in véraison, which reached its climax in mid-August. September’s continued benevolence enabled maturation to continue, in Nadine’s words, “at a sustained rhythm”.

Harvest started on 20th September, finishing at the Domaine on 3rd October, the whole of which period was magnificently dry and sunny. The early ripening Beaune plot, Clos de la Féguine, was the first picked, as is often the case. Harvest conditions were excellent: Nadine spoke of enviable ripeness levels, with good sugar-acid

balance. “Assez classique”, she affirmed, with a reassuring nod. The grapes arriving at the chai brimmed with life and health.

In the cellar, the wines were easy to handle, élevage proceeding without impediment. Whole bunches were used where they brought something to the wine, as noted in the individual notes below. The malolactic fermentations were very late, as tends to be the way here. The Domaine never accelerates ‘malo’ by warming the cellar. The white wines were racked with their lees, but as always, with no bâtonnage, or lees stirring. Nadine professed herself particularly relieved to discover excellent balance and maturity in the young grape juice.

An embattled early growing season, therefore, but one which ended very happily. As with other 2016s tasted, the violence of April is totally absent from the resulting wines, which in the best examples veritably glow with luminescence and harmony.

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2016 TASTING NOTES

BEAUNE 1ER CRU CHAMPS PIMONT

This 2.06 hectare plot was badly affected by frost in 2013, 2014 and again in 2016. This is a site with a high proportion of clay, with more topsoil than other vineyards. Spicy and exotic, I like to think of it as more flamboyant than Beaune Grèves but less so than Clos de la Féguine. Fabulous density and substance: you can almost taste the heavy clay soils here. The tannins are powerful but beautifully extracted. Nadine says she would rather drink Féguine young, but “Champs Pimont has an enormous ageing potential”. 50% whole bunch fermentation here, with ageing in 20% new oak. 16 barrels were produced, representing 18 hectolitres per hectare (hl/ha).

Corney & Barrow Score 17 to 18Recommended drinking window from 2022 - 2035

£275.00/case of 6 bottles, in bond UK

MEURSAULT ROUGE CLOS DE MAZERAY MONOPOLE

The vast majority of this vineyard is planted to Chardonnay. The same as last year, only two barrels of Pinot Noir were made in 2016, one old and one new, making this 50% new oak. 100% whole bunch vinified. A lovely sappy, lifted nose – exotic spices and tea leaf. The palate has rigorous (but beautifully ripe) tannins and a crunchiness of red berries. Wow! Bracing, in the best of ways, with perfume persisting on the finish. Punches way above its weight.

Corney & Barrow Score 17.5Recommended drinking from 2020 - 2026


BEAUNE 1ER CRU CLOS DE LA FÉGUINE MONOPOLE

This is a 1.59 hectare monopole premier cru within the 11 hectare Coucherias vineyard, beneath the wooded Montagne de Beaune. South-facing, on very thin, stony clay-limestone soil. It is exotically spiced on the nose, with incense and dried herbs (although it is 100% destemmed). The palate is fine and saltily chiselled on the entry, opening into a firm, rigorous palate, with cherry – gourmand, tender... This is aged in 25% new oak.



REDS

POMMARD-CHARMOTS 1ER CRU

Last year, a tiny crop here due to the knock-on effects of 2014’s hail meant that this was bottled entirely in magnum. This year, we have a little more quantity – hooray. The premier cru Charmots lies directly above Clos des Epeneaux. A spiced nose of tea leaf and dried herbs, leading into a palate of exotically spiced red berries, with firm tannins (this is Pommard, after all) on their best behaviour, guiding and corralling the fruit. You have to try hard to find a better Pommard! 100% whole bunch treatment again this year, with 30% new oak. (Indeed, Nadine affirmed, “This will always be 100% whole bunch – the floral, spiced, aerian style…”)

Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 to 18Recommended drinking from 2022 - 2032


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CORTON-BRESSANDES GRAND CRU

This escaped the frost and hail in 2016, making this a “jolie” year for Corton. It is always hard to know what to expect from Corton, an expansive grand cru whose styles range from the powerfully age-worthy to the delicately perfumed. A third of the grapes were whole bunch fermented here, Nadine having started this in 2014. 60% new oak was used. Sweet fruit and sweet spices on the nose, opening onto a palate of tender red berries and firm, cossetted, fruit-coated tannins. This was the first time Nadine herself had tasted the finished blend: it was a treat to see her joy at the freshness, power and ageing potential here. Really good wine.



CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU

The oldest vines here are 70 years old. The Domaine has holdings in Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, totalling 0.9 hectares, which in 2016 translated into just five barrels of wine due to the frost. Worst-affected were the young vines, where losses came in at around 90% (and for which reason the declassified young vines cuvée of Chambertin, labelled Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru, has not been made in 2016). A lovely, gently perfumed nose, of dark fruits, a little smoke and violets. The palate is firmly structured on the attack, but with wonderfully fine tannins. Nadine nods affirmatively after tasting… “Oui, beaucoup de classe.” 60% new oak, all destemmed.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2034+


CLOS DE VOUGEOT GRAND CRU

This 1.28 hectare parcel lies at the heart of the large Clos de Vougeot vineyard, at either side of the ‘main’ road which runs through the centre, in a very clay-dominated terroir. A third whole clusters were used in 2016, with ageing in 65% new French oak. The yield was just 20 hl/ha, due to the frost. Vougeot was “exceptional” in 2016, says Nadine – a “très grand millésime”, although she quickly adds that there was not much made. This presents itself as a Clos de Vougeot in disguise – prettier and more supply approachable than one expects at first sight – but then the fruit density and tannic power asserts itself. A lovely line of acidity runs through the palate, lifting and enlivening it.

Corney & Barrow Score 18Recommended drinking from 2023 - 2035+


MUSIGNY GRAND CRU

This is a parcel of 0.76 hectares in the southern part of the Les Petits Musigny vineyard, just above the Clos de Vougeot, planted with nearly half-century old vines. 25% whole bunches give this a spicy, exotic nose of lea leaves, which add intrigue to the ripe red berry fruit. This has such a complex, beguiling nose, it took me a while to move on and actually taste it… The palate is firmly, powerfully structured, a tightly wound spring, with a strutting potency, an assured assertiveness and a breathtakingly delicate side running in tandem, leaving a trail of flowers as the fruit recedes. An equivalent of three barrels has been produced, two of which are new. Joe, who I tasted with, proclaimed this “the jewel of the vintage”.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5 to 19Recommended drinking from 2023 - 2035+


Our tasting notes provide full details but, at your request, we have also introduced a clear and simple marking system. We hope these guidelines assist you in your selection.

Wines are scored out of 20. Customers seem to like it and it has the benefit of simplicity.

We will often use a range of scores (e.g. 16.5 to 17) to indicate the potential to achieve a higher mark. When a ‘+’ is shown it adds further to that potential. Wines from lesser vintages will, inevitably, show a lower overall score.

Wines are judged, in a very broad sense, against their peers. Why? Well, you cannot easily compare a Ford with an Aston Martin, other than they are both cars and have wheels. It is not that different with wine.

A score is a summary only. The devil is in the detail, so please focus on the tasting notes and, as always, speak to our sales team.

TASTING GUIDE

ÉCHÉZEAUX GRAND CRU

Domaine Jacques Prieur’s Échézeaux holding is in the lieu-dit Les Champs Traversins, opposite vines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. It has a rather specific micro-climate, the hill of La Combe d’Orveau affording some protection from the wind but not, sadly, from 2016’s frost, which caused 80% of these grapes to be lost. Nadine related that “exceptionally, this is a 50% whole bunch-vinified Échézeaux”. The result is true to the perfumed, ethereal style of this holding, whilst being sadly tiny in volume.

Corney & Barrow Score 18Recommended drinking from 2023 - 2033


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BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY

This is made from the vines adjacent to the Domaine, all of which grow within the village of Meursault. A little less than a hectare of vines, which suffered from the frost in April. All of the grapes were fermented in a four year old foudre. Pastry on the nose, with firm stone fruit. Nadine is now making whites with a weighting towards reduction (meaning the grape juice and fermenting wine is protected from the effects of oxygen), leaving them in contact with their lees longer. A juicily fruit-driven wine, making you salivate.

Corney & Barrow Score 17 Recommended drinking from 2017 - 2020


BEAUNE BLANC 1ER CRU CHAMPS PIMONT

Champs Pimont Blanc is a 1.41 hectare holding which was ravaged by hail in 2013 and 2014, and small but lovely in 2015. In 2016, it was affected by the frost, although less badly than others (see the table on p.6), making it the most plentiful of the Beaune whites this year. Textured and more fruit-focused than Clos de la Féguine, with yellow flowers, lemon and sherbet. A toasty popcorn aspect too, with a richness and a tactile quality. One foudre and three barrels were produced, with an average of 15% new oak.

Corney & Barrow Score 17+Recommended drinking from 2019 - 2023


BEAUNE BLANC 1ER CRU CLOS DE LA FÉGUINE MONOPOLE

This is a small parcel, a monopole with just 0.27 hectares of Chardonnay vines, at the top of the slope with limestone soils, west of Grèves. White, grey, stony soil, perfect white Beaune territory. This is at once mineral and floral – give this to people who say Chardonnay is not an aromatic grape! Salty and precise on the palate, it is so complete. Lovely lifted, refreshing acidity which sustains the palate through to a precise chalky mineral finish. 20% new oak.



MEURSAULT 1ER CRU SANTENOTS

These 0.2 hectares of Chardonnay vines were cropped at 20 hl/ha in 2016. The Domaine’s Santenots holdings were previously planted entirely to Pinot Noir, but in the 1990s, the decision was taken to replant to Chardonnay and as of the 2000 vintage there has also been a white. This is next to Marquis d’Angerville’s plot. Pastry and a little roasted corn on the nose. There is a “power of salinity” here, in Nadine’s words. This austere, no-makeup style of Meursault is right up my street! Shapely, tapering nicely. 20% new oak this year.

Corney & Barrow Score 18+Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2028


MEURSAULT 1ER CRU PERRIÈRES

A tiny parcel of 0.3 hectares of old vines, which mercifully was less affected than some by the frost. Corn and pastry on the nose, opening onto a palate which is both weighty and yet super-chiselled, fine, sculpted, almost elemental. “I am amazed by the power”, says Nadine, who was tasting this final blend for the first time with us. Salty, coming to a precise point in the best possible way on the finish. 50% new oak.



MEURSAULT CLOS DE MAZERAY MONOPOLE

This wine has the dual distinction of coming from the Domaine’s only village vineyard and being a monopole, in sole ownership. It is over three hectares in size: a decent chunk of Meursault planted mostly to Chardonnay, with a little Pinot Noir. The Domaine lost 60% of this in 2016. A lovely orange blossom nose, with pure pressed apples. Brilliantly bright green melon, zippy citrus and lemon peel, with little pops of sherbet. Vinified half in foudre, half in barrel, with an overall total of 15% new oak.



WHITES

PULIGNY-MONTRACHET 1ER CRU COMBETTES

A 1.49 hectare plot, which was miraculously spared the frost (indeed, Puligny as a whole fared much better in terms of yields than Meursault in 2016). A powerful, assertive nose of stone-fruit and pastry. The palate is fine and taut, with white flowers and a forcefully linear drive which – if you want to give it a shape – is elongated, driving through to a powerful finish. 100% in foudre, a third of which is new oak.



BEAUNE BLANC 1ER CRU GRÈVES

This is from the youngest of the Domaine’s vines, a stony, gravelly 0.5 hectare plot planted in 2003. The first vintage was 2009. Very badly affected by the frost in 2016 – 85% was lost, making a mere 12 hl/ha and production of just two barrels. This achieved 13.6% potential alcohol – excellent ripeness. Bright, superlatively ripe white fruit, with citrus and a little grapefruit. A touch of salty precision gives a glimpse of the strong minerality of this site.



CHEVALIER-MONTRACHET GRAND CRU

This is the Domaine’s southernmost holding, just 0.2 hectares of over 50 year-old vines. It is situated at the south-west corner of the Chevalier-Montrachet vineyard, on the upper slope. Only two barrels were produced. The aromas here need coaxing, but work the glass a little and you will find distilled terroir on the nose – salt and chalk, fine and elemental. Thrilling surface tension on the palate, which holds itself in a powerful interplay of saltiness and ripe stone-fruit. “Between 2014 and 2015 in terms of maturity”, according to Nadine.

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5Recommended drinking from 2021 - 2028+


LE MONTRACHET GRAND CRU

A 0.6 hectare plot of this most hallowed of vineyards. Three quarters of this was lost due to the frost, although thankfully Domaine Jacques Prieur was able to produce its own wine (a whole three barrels!), rather than following the course of six other growers, including Domaine Leflaive, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine des Comtes Lafon, who took the unprecedented decision to pool and co-vinify their grapes. Lucky Edouard… and lucky us. The nose is quiet, but bristles with energy and power. On the palate, there is a veritable explosion of power – but not just power, nuance, fluidity and energy. 13.2% natural alcohol – in the sweet spot – with 50% new oak. Stunning wine.


£1850.00/case of 3 bottles, in bond UKPlease be aware that quantities are limited on many wines. A prompt order is recommended and allocations will be necessary.

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2016 VINTAGE - candblibrary.co.uk · Puligny-Montrachet les Combettes 1.5 ha 26 years 0% VILLAGES...

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